Poland: Putin’s attendance at WWII anniversary would be inappropriate
It would be inappropriate for Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the events commemorating the 80th anniversary of the start of World War II, said Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jacek Sasin.
Sasin called the Russian president “the leader of a country that is using armed aggression against its neighbors”. “And I think that it would be inappropriate to commemorate the anniversary of armed aggression against Poland with the attendance of a leader who is using the same methods against his neighbors,” Polskie Radio cites the politician as saying.
He added that US President Donald Trump’s attendance has already been confirmed. Warsaw also expects German Chancellor Angela Merkel to attend. “We have sent invitations to a wide range of leaders, and so we expect and are certain that it will be an event of global significance,” the deputy prime minister remarked.
It was learned in spring this year that Poland did not intend to invite Putin. Pawel Mucha, Deputy Head of the Polish President’s Office, said at the time that Poland had decided to invite only allies from the European Union and the Eastern Partnership. He also observed that the Russian President is not a person non grata, and can visit Poland at any time. He questioned the Soviet Union’s contribution to the defeat of Nazi Germany.
At the time, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it was surprised that Poland had decided to exclude Russia from the WWII commemoration, describing the decision as evidence of “the warped world view of the Polish administration, which for the sake of momentary political priorities is systematically falsifying the chronicle of WWII and the subsequent period”.